p. 4 | How They Work for It by W. A. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 20, 1916

How They Work for It

By W. A. S.

HERE is a word in season from India, just at the time of preparation for the coming missions offering on July 29. The Mission Board is having to tell the fields at this moment that response to further calls for help at needy points will have to wait until it is seen how the funds come in. The treasurer’s appeal in last week’s REVIEW sounded a note that we have not heard from the mission treasury in recent times. The next few remittances to the fields will exhaust the operating funds. Now every new call of need must be deferred. Truly this Mid-summer Offering comes at an opportune time.

But here is that word in season. Sending in a report of $176 collected at a Harvest Ingathering service by the church in Nazareth, south India, numbering only eighty or ninety persons, Elder J. S. James gives us the following paragraphs:—

“My mind goes back to the first Ingathering service in Nazareth. When it was suggested, nobody seemed to think it would amount to much. The people were poor, and they had so many other things to call for their pice. Why call upon these poor, naked, half-starved people to give of their hard-earned money? We ought to give them something instead of expecting something from them.

“Such were the arguments, but we went ahead. I think our first collection was $14. That was not much, but it was beyond the effort we made, so we tried it again in the fall, with better results. We arranged programs and got the people interested in taking part. The school children raised garden stuff and gave the proceeds; children in their homes raised chickens and goats, gathered eggs, and did all sorts of things to get a little money; the heads of families brought baskets of grain for the first fruits of their harvest; and then last of all came their self-denial offerings, collected in little round earthen pots about the size of a large orange, made in one piece with a slit in the top to drop the money in. They could be opened only by breaking them, but as they cost less than half a cent each, we were sure to find the savings inside more than enough to cover the loss.

“Each pot had the name of the owner written on the outside. Before the pot was broken, the name was read, and the owner acknowledged it by some sign. The pot was then broken with a stone, the contents were counted, and the amount was registered.

“You can imagine it was an interesting sight to see two big baskets of pots before the pulpit, with a half-naked, half-starved audience sitting about on the floor anxiously waiting to see whose pot would have the most pice in it. Out of some would roll silver pieces and big round rupees almost as large as dollars, and meaning much more in value to the people; and then you would hear exclamations of ‘I-Yo, I-Yo!’ which is all the equal to any of our big-eyed remarks. Then on every hand you would see baskets of rice, bottles of oil, cakes of sugar, large bunches of bananas, bunches of small chickens with their feet tied together, while possibly outside, tied to a near-by tree, two young goats would be struggling to free themselves. Those were goats that had been raised by some children, and were household pets, but the children were glad to give them for the Lord’s work.

“Talk about poor, naked, half-starved people! Pity them if you will, and excuse them from having a part of that blessing which is greater than to receive! Why, these people, when properly taught, fairly take delight in giving. They love it, and vie with one another in excelling their last gift. They never think of their bare skin, their scanty food, or their humble homes. Christ has come into their hearts, and they are anxious to have you know it. The love of the truth has reached the inner sanctuary, from which issues forth a sweet incense of praise and gratitude.”

Truly “their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” It is an inspiring example set by these new brethren and sisters of ours at the ends of the earth.

W. A. S.